How to avoid getting confused with Spam!
As peer-to-peer texting becomes more widely adopted for communication with supporters, voters, donors and much more, it’s incredibly important for organizations to steer clear from messages that may feel spammy to your contacts on the receiving end!
Keep your engagement rates high and your opt-outs low with these helpful tips below:
1. Avoid including links in your initial message!
When sending URL links to your contacts, it’s important that you first establish a rapport before directing them to the world wide web! Whether you’re asking folks to RSVP to an event online, or sending them a link to make a donation make sure to ask them if they’re interested in participating first!
Instead of sending links to everyone in your initial message, it’s important that links are only being sent to folks that are ready to get involved and have expressed interest! That way, your initial message reads less like spam and more like a conversation.
2. Use an organization branded link instead of a URL shortener
Make sure folks feel comfortable clicking on the links their receiving by using the original URL instead of a shortened version. Folks will feel much safer clicking on www.Hustle.com instead of something like bit.ly/###
Why? It lets them know exactly where they’ll be directed to when they click on this link. It reads much more nicely, feels much more authentic, and when received on certain smartphones it even provides a preview of the url which can help drive conversions!
If you absolutely have to use a shortened link for tracking clicks, we recommend using a paid for version instead of the free versions such as bit.ly, tiny url, and google shortener. Which are much less likely to be interpreted as spam!
3. Save MMS and Images for the response!
If it’s your first time messaging a contact avoid sending an MMS as your initial message. An image can be a much larger file to receive on a mobile phone and can feel like spam from an unknown number. When in doubt, talk it out! Launch your conversation with an introduction and an ask. Once that contact expresses interest, send them that cute gif, image, or flyer to your upcoming event! Sending large files to folks who are interested in staying connected is a much better use of MMS and will ensure your messages don’t get confused with spam.
4. And remember K.I.S.S — Keep It Simple Sender
Don’t overwhelm your contacts with messages that are too lengthy. That’s not the best way to communicate via text. Look at your last five messages from friends and family, were those messages two — three paragraphs long? Probably not! Sending extremely long messages is a very easy way to get confused with spam from the person on the other end. Keep your message simple. Only include what you have to and aim for conversation instead of information overload. It can be very tempting to include overwhelming amount of information in your text messaged, but we recommend avoiding when possible.
For all other best practices make sure to check out our recommendations here
Let’s Hustle better together :)
